How to Clean Silver Jewelry Using Everyday Supplies

Have you ever decided to take out an old silver piece of jewelry and noticed that it has lost most of it's luster and shine due to tarnish? Then fear not! No longer will it be necessary to go out and buy silver polish. There is a simple solution to get the old sparkle back with the use of common household goods.

The only ingredients you will need to start cleaning your jewelry is a glass bowl, aluminum foil, boiling water, and some baking soda. Since silver oxidizes due to exposure to moisture and air, the water plus baking soda mixture will cause all the tarnish on the silver to bind to the aluminum foil instead. Leaving you with a shiny piece of jewelry again.

Instructions:
1. Boil water to cover the silver jewelry in the bowl.

2. Line the bottom of the bowl with a piece of aluminum foil and place the your jewelry on top of it.

3. Sprinkle a little bit of baking soda over the jewelry.

4. Then pour enough of the boiling water to submerge the silver. When the water touches the items in the bowl. The water will begin to bubble and that indicates that the reaction is taking place.

5. You can swirl the water inside the bowl in order to make sure that the piece is touching the aluminum foil.

6. After about 15 minutes, your pieces should be as good as new. Rinse it off with some water and dry with a soft cloth.

Now if you find that you don't have any baking soda at home, a good alternative is toothpaste. Why you ask? It's because toothpaste also includes baking soda as one of its ingredients. Like the the first way to clean silver as well as in many commercial silver cleansers, the reaction between baking soda with water is what gets rid of the tarnish on silver. So a little bit of toothpaste and water can go a long way to clean your silver jewelry as well.

Instructions:

1. First, you have to make sure that you have the right kind of toothpaste. Avoid using gels because it does not have baking soda. As well as the ones that have extra whitening or tartar control, the extra chemicals in these might harm the jewelry in the long run.

2. After finding the right toothpaste. Apply a little bit of water on the piece and a dab of toothpaste.

3. Then use a soft cloth to polish the silver, until the cloth begins to grow dark and absorbs the tarnish from the silver.

4. If the oxidized area is particularly hard to remove, try using an old toothbrush, to gently scrub the area until clean.

5. After polishing, wash off the remaining toothpaste with warm water. Then dry with a soft cloth.

On a side note, you might notice a little hint of mint, but it will go away quickly with time.

Over time, it is inevitable that silver begins to change colors, but that doesn't mean that you can't help to slow down the process. If you follow a few simple tips, it is easy to maintain your favorite silver jewelry.

The first tip regards how to properly store your jewelry. Try to keep them in a separate box away from high heat and moisture. Both of these conditions breeds tarnish, so it is best to keep them away from both.

Another tip is avoid letting the pieces get tangled with one another, by keeping them in different boxes or pouches. This will avoid unneeded repair to fix a broken chain.

Not all sterling silver jewelry can be cleaned using the methods that were discussed in this lens. Pieces that have been oxidized or antiqued could potentially be harmed by these home cleaning remedies. Since these accessories have been treated differently from conventional sterling silver jewelry. An example of oxidized jewelry would be the Great Heron Orchidaceae Necklace by Enfants Perdus.

With all of these tips and advice on hand, you'll be able to bring a shine to all your old silver jewelry in no time. As I stated, none of these steps take much time or cause a dent in your pocket. So why not give them a try. A word of caution though, is try not to use these on silver jewelry with gemstones on them because there might be damage using the baking soda. Also if the piece was originally oxidized or engraved, the cleaning process will get rid of that as well. So use with discretion.